How to run the Cambridge Half Marathon

I like to do one or two half marathons in the build up to a marathon. In the next month or so, I’ll be doing just that to help me prepare.

Whilst, one of the half marathons I do will just be to test the legs and won’t involve much of a taper, I do like to make one a goal in itself.

I feel its important to make sure I chose the right half marathon for this.

Last year, I chose to do the Cambridge Half Marathon in my build up for the London Marathon.

This year, i’ll be returning to do it again.

This is mainly due to last years' experience. I was really impressed with the course and organisation and thoroughly enjoyed the event.

It’s also perfectly timed at around a month out from my goal marathon. This makes it ideal preparation.

I'd strongly recommend Cambridge, both as a main race and during a marathon build up. I'm probably not supposed to say this, having been to Oxford University, but they do have a better half marathon...

As always, i’ll be preparing for the race by tapering my training slightly the week before. I’ll have a few easier days before the race to make sure my legs are just a little fresher.

I’ll combine this with eating and sleeping well in the week beforehand. As it’s only a half, I won’t increase my carbohydrate intake too much but i’ll take care to make sure each meal and snack includes a source of carbohydrate. I’ll also eat a pasta or rice-based meal the night before.

My breakfast on the morning will be a fairly standard and easily digestible bagel or toast with peanut butter and banana.

I’ll have my usual double espresso one hour before (plenty of places to get this in Cambridge).

When I get there, I’ll do a light warm up of 1-2 miles and a few strides. Last year, the race was well organised with plenty of toilets and a secure place to keep your bags. I’ll make sure I visit these both in advance. 

There are ample places to get a decent warm up in whilst taking in the lovely city.

The race itself is a great one for a fast time. I ran my third fastest time ever, last year, despite having quite a few miles in my legs from the marathon work!

It’s always a good idea to start off slightly slower than your goal time for the first 1-2 miles but as the course is mostly flat, i’ll try to get on schedule fairly quickly.

I always try to run an even pace but with the lack of undulation this is really important here.

There are some tight twists and turns, which can slow you down a little. However, these don't last long and I found that stretching out on the flat sections to gain a little time back is useful.

There are parts where it can feel breezy on a windy day. If you are short like me, sheltering in a group of runners can be really helpful on these sections.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere around the course. I thrive off of good support en route so i’ll look forward to it this year.

The last part of the race is fast so you'll be able to take advantage of this and finish strongly if you have paced it well throughout. This was my quickest mile as you can see from my splits below.

Like most half marathons i do before a marathon, i'll likely do an extra 4-5 miles afterwards to make it into a long run for the week.

Last year, I completed this down by the river, the lovely scenery taking my mind off the fact that my legs had already raced a hard half marathon!

I'm really looking forward to doing this event again but first, I need to put in another hard four weeks of training as I am still some way off where i need to be.

I'll be aiming to update my blog each week from now until the Brighton Marathon.

Until then! x